This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • Think It Can’t Happen Here? Think Again.

    Well, you’d be wrong – it already does, albeit thankfully only fairly rarely. And this latest incident in Detroit provides yet another example.

    A man asked two people whether they were Muslims before stabbing them at a Southfield bus stop on Saturday, the victims told police.

    We already have some radical Islamists among us today. And with the current      naïve DC clown krewe’s      Administration’s proposal to quadruple the number of refugees from Syria admitted to the US, we’ll almost certainly only see more such incidents.

    Sheesh.  We seriously need some adult leadership in DC.

     

    (Note:   first link has been updated with a story providing more details.) 

  • VA’s ‘I Care’ Campaign? “Management has made a mockery of it.”

    Give the new VA Secretary, Robert McDonald, credit. He appears to be attempting to make some positive changes. Specifically, he appears to be trying to change the VA’s culture. The VA’s new “I Care” campaign is such an effort.

    Actually making those changes, however, may take a while. And Lord knows such changes are really needed. Indeed, per an article in the Washington Times yesterday,

    . . . the VA culture was responsible for the agency’s addition last week to the Government Accountability Office’s “high-risk list” of troubled federal programs. The GAO said it has “serious concerns” about VA management and oversight of its health care system and found “inadequate training for VA staff.”

    As I’ve been saying for some time now: the VA doesn’t have a resource problem; that agency’s budget has increased such that it is today 2.5+ times larger than in 2001. What it does have is serious leadership, priorities, and culture problems.

    An organization’s leadership can change its priorities relatively quickly. However, changing the leadership and culture are going to take some time. IMO it will take literally years to identify and remove most of the poor leaders at all levels within the VA, and at least that long to change the organization’s culture.

    That’s supported by the quote in the title of this article. Per the same Washington Times article, that is precisely how one VA employee has described his/her own management’s actions regarding the VA’s new “I Care” campaign designed to change the VA’s organizational culture.

  • Not A Good Idea

    A week-plus ago, a guy was driving in Palm Beach County, FL. He cut off an unmarked police vehicle.

    That in itself was not real bright, since at the time he was also (1) a felon, (2) driving a stolen car, while (3) in possession of illegal drugs and (4) unlawfully in possession of a handgun. Predictably, police followed him; observed additional unlawful behavior; and arrested him.

    However, while in custody the guy did something that really takes the cake.

    When questioned – either verbally or when asked to fill out a form; the account isn’t absolutely clear on which – he was asked his occupation. He indeed told the police his occupation:  “drug dealer”.

    Seriously.

    Apparently the Refreshments were right nearly 20 years ago.

  • Plans . . . and Life

    I was planning to try and write a thoughtful article about how life is what happens while you’re making other plans. And I guess I could try and do that – and attempt to wax eloquent on how that’s OK and how we make it anyway, even though it’s at times confusing and frustrating.

    Then I thought some more, and decided I’d simply post this instead. It says the same thing, probably better than I can. And unless I’m badly mistaken, I’m guessing it will resonate a bit with many of TAH’s readers.

    The lads were right. When I really think about it, I realize I don’t want to know with full certainty precisely what the future holds.

    Have a good holiday, everyone. Hope this wasn’t too much of a downer.

  • Another Group Gets Their Eyes Forced Open – Maybe

    Well, here we go. Another group is raising hell about having to pay a fee for not having the “proper” kind of healthcare. Predictably, they don’t much like it.

    Seems students at Cornell are being “strongly encouraged” to join the University’s healthcare system. For those that don’t, there’s now a mandatory fee for not joining up. That’s true even if the individual doesn’t need it because they are already covered by other legally-mandatory health insurance.

    If you ask me, that sounds quite reminiscent of the “wonderful system” commonly called Obamacare. There’s a penalty for opting out there, too – even if you don’t believe you need it.

    Yeah, right. Cornell’s students get little sympathy from me. That’s what happens when a regime that merely gives lip service to concepts of individual liberty and freedom – but in reality aspires to be a Soviet-style dictatorship controlling every aspect of people’s lives – is in power. They’ll tell you what you must do, and take away choices you previously had.

    Besides: by and large, their parents voted for such       a regime      an Administration in DC.  Why should they expect anything different at Cornell?

  • Interesting . . . .

    Fox News’ psychiatrist and columnist Dr. Keith Ablow has written an interesting article today. If you’re interested, you can read it here.

    Yeah, it’s about Brian Williams and his apparent very public “liberties” with the truth. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t think of a few others we all “know and love” when I read it.

    YMMV, of course.

  • Perhaps “the biggest science scandal ever”

    Provided with only brief comments.

    1. Read the article (the quote in the title is from the article’s title). If you’ve been following the issue closely, it will be no surprise. If you haven’t – read the article.

    2. Orwell called his version of this practice “rectifying” history. Today, it seems to be called “adjusting the data”.

    3. Looking for a reason? “Follow the money”.

  • Yer Sunday Silly: Look, Up In the Sky! It’s a . . . WTF?

    Well, it appears we in the USA have no monopoly on government stupidity – or gullibility. Looks like the folks in New Zealand can give us a run for out money.

    In the city of Auckland, the city council commissioned some public art. They paid the artist the equivalent $147,000 (US).

    They got what is purportedly a sculpture of a cloud – indeed, it’s titled “Transit Cloud” . It’s currently suspended over a walkway near a major transit hub, on public display. It’s seen by thousands daily.

    I say it purportedly looks like a cloud because, well, that’s not exactly what I’d say it looks like to me. But I guess YMMV.

    The sculptor says his “sculpture” was indeed supposed to represent a cloud, and further that he “was confident it would look different once 50 metres (165 feet) of neon lights were connected to it and lit up inside the structure.”

    Yeah, right. Somehow, I don’t think so – at least not in broad daylight when people can see it.

    You could not make this sh!t up if you tried.